DOER
- Heidi Eva Jones
- Dec 31
- 6 min read
Volume 14 Issue 12
Greetings in His Name,
With the New Year coming up, I encourage you to take some time to think about what God wants you to do in the months ahead. Starting something new is often simple but turning it into a habit can be much harder. That’s why today’s blog is called DOER. I hope it gives you inspiration, encouragement, and maybe even some questions to consider.
shalom and love,
heidi
James 1:22 – 25
22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! [DOER] Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. 25 But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life! —even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
In a 2005 issue of Our Daily Bread, Richard Dehaan tells the story of a man in New York City who died at 63 without ever working a single job. The man spent his entire adult life in college. He acquired multiple degrees but never put any of them into practice. Rather than a thirst for knowledge, it turns out the man’s lifelong career in the classroom was the result of a trust fund left to him by a wealthy relative who passed away when the man was just a child. The trust fund stipulated that the man was to be given enough money to support him, so long as he was in school. The man turned that fund into a lifetime of income by simply staying in school.
Just like the man in the story, we have the trust fund of the word; we know the terms because we hear them Sunday after Sunday, Wednesday after Wednesday. Unfortunately, we still don’t keep them. Most of the time, we miss out on the lifetime of benefits because we don’t live out the word; we don’t do the word. The KJV says don’t just be a hearer but be a doer, so: We hear trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to your own understanding, but what do we do? We lean towards our own understanding, which leads us into deeper issues. We hear love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself, but what do we do? We half heartily do the things of God, and Lord have mercy on how we DO our neighbors. We hear bring all the tithe, we hear God loves a cheerful giver, we hear honor the Lord with your wealth, but what do we do? We hold back, we disobey the words we hear, and oftentimes we stay in lack. Because we hear but don’t do it leads to foolishness.
This brings me to the first bit of advice to a doer.
Doer don’t be Foolish
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Notice the phrase, “deceiving your own selves.” To deceive yourself is to walk in foolishness.
Luke the physician said this, "and why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" [Luke 6:46] When God pours life into us from his word, it is meant to do something, change something, or even bring something that pushes us to do it. The word is not just information for our heads, but inspiration for our hearts. What a waste of time to get up and tread our way to church and then leave out the door without applying the life-giving word to our lives. Let me tell you something: it’s easy to listen —but you know where it becomes hard or difficult — when it comes to the word of God, applying it. We can listen to what the world has to offer, and we apply it all day long, but when we hear the word of God that will heal and direct our souls, that’s where most folk have a problem and fall short. A sinful life is not hard to comply with; it’s a holy life.
Next, Doer don’t be Forgetful
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Okay, this may sound like gibberish, but let’s break this down. The word glass is really the word for a mirror. The mirror allows us to see ourselves as we really are. You’ve heard folks say, "Take a look in the mirror." Oftentimes, it is said when pointing out flaws, but that is precisely what the word is. It’s a flaw detector. It’s a mind regulator. It’s an encourager. The Bible is a mirror, and when we look in it, it reflects truths. It tells us 'You are a sinner.' "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God [Romans 3:23]." It tells us we need a Savior: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" [Romans 6:23]. It tells us that, in Christ, we are loved, accepted, and forgiven. But, get this, in verse 24, it reminds us that even though we saw ourselves, the word of God pointed out some things, it chastised us about some things, but it is in our walking away that we have to be careful. Lest we forget, I don’t care how hard life gets, don’t forget the word. I don’t care how hemmed in you may be, don’t forget the word of God. Because if you do, you may find yourself cussing and fussing folks out, you may find yourself adapting to behavior that is unseemly and unrighteous. You may be asking how I can be that doer who is not forgetful.
We can find help in the scripture:
Psalm 1:1-2: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psalm 119:11: Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
These are two things you can do, and then I’m moving on to the last point. You must meditate on God’s word and memorize God’s word.
So, a Doer don’t be Foolish, Doer don’t be Forgetful, and lastly, Doer be Faithful.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Who wants to be blessed? Re-read the verse. Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty. Looketh! James is merely saying, how much effort, how much strain are you making to look into the perfect law of liberty? How diligently are you looking in the Word of Christ? The word cannot become a part of our actions unless we deeply look into scripture and continue therein. For instance, if you read that you are to love your neighbor as yourself (as aforementioned), but you are so busy with yourself that you never tell your neighbor about Jesus, then you have not honestly responded to the Word. If you read that those who have been forgiven are supposed to, in turn, forgive, and yet you carry around some dusty grudge against someone, then you have not faithfully and obediently responded to the Word of God! To be a doer is to be a responder. We hear all the 'thou shalt nots,' but if we don’t heed them, we are not a doer. We recite the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), but if we don’t reproduce them in our lives, we are not a doer. Yes! We are listening, but when our listening (and this is key) becomes our living, then we are a doer. It is not enough to hear and know what the Bible says. James reminds us that a faithful handling of the Word of God involves hearing and obeying what God has said.
We are entering a New Year, hopefully doing something to enlarge God's Kingdom.
LIFE QUOTE
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
-Walt Disney
Let Us Laugh!
Seems there were these three professionals sitting around talking about the oldest profession.
The Doctor says, “Well, the Bible says that God took a rib out of Adam to make woman. Since that clearly required surgery, then the oldest profession is surely medicine.”
The Engineer shakes his head and replies, "No, no. The Bible also says that God created the world out of void and chaos. To do that, God must surely have been an engineer. Therefore, Engineering is the oldest profession.”
The Politician smiles smugly and leans discreetly forward. "Ah,” he says, "but who do you think created the Chaos?”
Hope to see you Next Month....
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